Snowball fights and Tattoos
by Milchzahn
Summary: Riza Hawkeye gets an invitation to spend the holiday season at the Rockbell residence. Other people try to invite themselves along. And soon old wounds are opened up that have been hidden away for so many years. (T for concepts that can't be understood by young readers)
1. An Invitation

This story is written in dedication to aav-sama on deviantart :)  
Hi, aav-sama, your friend signed you up for the FMA secret santa 2016. I went to your deviantart page to get to know your likes and dislikes, so I hope this story is ok for you. I really enjyoed being your secret santa. Maybe this inspires you to put together some fanart that would fit this story? If you do find some matching art, feel free to let me know, I'd love to check it out 3  
I know, a major part of the holiday season is already over, but I hope you can enjoy this late present.  
Love, milchzahn (tumblr puste- -blume :)

* * *

December 1916

Riza cleaned her wet boots on the doormat, slush and snow falling, or rather slugging, off and stepped into her warm apartment, careful not to step on the letters that were lying on the floor before her. "Uh, I hate winter," said a voice behind her, belonging to her friend. "It's cold and everyone gets emotional because of some kind of holiday. I feel the need to throw up just thinking about it." "Then just don't drink so much eggnog." Riza dryly remarked. "I didn't even have that much." Rebecca slid out of her boots and hung up her wet coat on a hanger. Then she spotted the letters on the floor. "Oh look, love letters for you." With the air of someone who is way too comfortable with the privacy of others, she opened one while stepping into Rizas small but comfortable living room and sank down on the dark red sofa.

"Oh see, you **did** get the invitation to the Military Christmas Ball!" she said and just when Riza sat down next to her, setting down two mugs of hot chocolate before the two of them. "You know you're not supposed to just open people's mail like that, right?" she said , trying to sound strict but failing. It was helpless with Rebecca anyway. "Also, I'm not going to that ball. I just need to find a good explanation, why I can't go. And I can't fake sick again, I did that last year." she muttered while taking a sip of hot chocolate and petting Black Hayate, who had curled up next to her.

"Aha! I have just found the perfect excuse for us not going." said Rebecca gleefully as she help up another letter. "Us?" - "Well, if you're not going, why should I?" Riza snatched the letter from Rebecca's hands and glanced over it. "See?" asked Rebecca. "Well, ok, first of all, this letter is addressed to me-" - "But it says here you can bring friends." Rebecca pointed her finger at a sentence at the bottom of the letter. Riza looked at her friend with a look that said ' _I'm close to not counting you as mine anymore'_ so Rebecca added "Pleaaaaaaase." "… Ok fine." "WOHOOO!" Black Hayate howled.

* * *

The next day in the canteen:

"Yeah, I don't need to go to that anymore." Catalina smiled triumphantly. "So you're sick this year, aren't you? You know, this doesn't count anymore unless you can prove it." - "Oh but there is a very important invitation I got, or rather I'm going to be Riza's plus one." Mustang looked up from the stuff that the military regarded as food. "You're what?" – "I knew you'd be jealous." Rebecca grinned. "But don't worry; we're just going as friends."

Roy furrowed his brows "Where to?" – "Oh I won't say. Wouldn't want you to follow us, to be honest." – "I see…" – "But it's not really fun is it? Tell you what; I will be able to bring you along as well, when you do me a favour."The General had a look on suspicion on his face "I will not fall for that, Lieutenant. I know what Havoc had to do." – "Yeah but you want to escape the Ball, don't you?!" She leaned in closer "Also, maybe I'll be able to switch some clothes out of The Hawk's suitcase and put some more… pretty stuff in, if you catch my drift." – "You disgust me, Lieutenant." – "So it's on then?" – "…What do you want?" Rebecca flashed a smile that eerily reminded him of something he saw in a zoo once. "Well…"


	2. The Way to Resembool

23rd of December, Central Train Station

Riza Hawkeye, the leash of her dog in one and a suitcase in the other hand, pushed herself through the masses of people. She wasn't really comfortable with the thought of meeting Rebecca on the train, and not picking her up at home like usually. Rebecca tended to be late. On the other hand… well, it would not be such a bad thing if Rebecca did miss the train.

A thin smile appeared on the blonde woman's face as she fumbled in her pocket with her gloved hand to find the ticket with the wagon and seat number on it. Then she found the correct number wagon and climbed in, her well trained dog following her on the heel. After squeezing past other people with suitcases and heavy coats, who, to her anger, nearly stepped on her dog one too many times, she found her seat in a six person compartment that was still unoccupied. Riza pushed her suitcase on to the rack above the seats and having struggled out of her coat, sank down into the surprisingly comfortable seat. She got out a book and started reading. After a few pages Riza glanced out of the window, her eyes finding the clock hanging at the platform. ' _Well, looks like she will actually miss the train this time'_ she thought, not really being sad about that, as the train started to lurch forward and then steadily and with increasing speed started to move out of the train station.

She had just about gotten used to the thought of travelling alone, when the compartment door was pulled open and a heavy breathing Rebecca stuck her head in. "Ah," she said, "This is us." Riza wanted to ask if her friend was again referring to herself as 'Her Majesty' when she saw the other person shuffling into the compartment behind Rebecca. She raised her brows "And what are you doing here, General?" – "Going to Resembool, of course." Roy replied cheerfully, and then turned his back to the two eyes burning into his back, to put away his suitcase. Riza shot Rebecca a quizzical look, that would probably have been translated into a friendly ' _What the fuck_?'

Rebecca shrugged as if saying ' _Well, there's nothing to be done about this now, is there?'_ and sat down opposite her friend. "I did only inform Winry that Rebecca will be tagging along to **my** invitation." Leaving the very obvious statement ' _You're not invited'_ hanging in the air. "Oh I already went ahead and called. Miss Rockbell said this would not be a problem." Roy replied. Riza looked from him to Rebecca and then back. "How?" but before anyone could say anything she hastily added "Wait, I knew what happened to Havoc, I change my mind, I don't want to know." – "Well, you see, I really earned it, Lieutenant, I just –" Riza cut him off with a very definitive hand gesture "I. Don't. Want. To. Know." and to stress her point she opened her book and started to read in a way that suggested to better not disturb her.

* * *

Resembool Station, some hours later

"Riiiizaaaa!" Winry waved frantically while sprinting towards the three people and the dog that had just climbed out of the train. Black Hayate also seemed just as excited as the girl and furiously wagged its tail so match Winry's arms. Riza smiled when she opened her arms to embrace the younger woman. "Hello Winry. Hey, are those earrings new? They really suit you." – "Thank you, yes I just bought them, couldn't resist. I really like your coat; you should wear red more often I think. Ah and hello Miss Catalina, so nice to see you." – "Please call me Rebecca."

They shook hands when a polite cough made them look around. The General had remained a little behind, because he had helped getting everyone's suitcases out of the train. Now he looked a bit helpless trying not to let anything fall on the ground. "Oh. Hello Mr. Mustang." Winry shook hands with Roy after Riza and Rebecca had taken their suitcases from him. "Hello Miss Rockbell, nice to see you again." Winry motioned with her hand to beckon them to follow her. "Mr. Vimes is taking us back with his sleigh; he's just feeding the horse."

Riza looked around as she followed Winry. The sun had set a few hours ago but the snow still reflected enough light to illuminate the landscape around them. The little train station was not really more than a tiny house next to a platform on the outskirts of the town of Resembool. The snow crunched under their soles as they followed the young blonde woman round the tiny station to a pretty open sleigh. The horse harnessed to the front of the sleigh was a sturdy brown mare, currently munching on some hay. "Welcome to Resembool." said a short and rather round man with a friendly face. "The name's Sam Vimes, nice to meet you." They shook hands and climbed into the sleigh after their luggage had been stored away. "There is some blankets back there too, the wind we get here can bite quite a bit, mind you." said Vimes as he climbed on to the coach box. "Giddyup Lady"!

While they sled through the winter landscape, Winry started a friendly conversation. The three military officers learned that she was still working as Garfeil's apprentice, but had taken leave from work to visit Pinako for Christmas. "And because it would have been very dull and quiet this year, I mean the boys are away exploring anyway, I thought about who to invite, so well, then of thought of you, Riza, I mean, you don't have a family and all…"

Winry's voice trailed off, she obviously wasn't sure if she had said too much. "Thanks again so much for your invitation. That was very kind of you to think of me. Sorry again for putting you through the trouble of also having to host people who simply just invited themselves." Rebecca and Roy at least had the decency to look slightly embarrassed. "Oh, my grandma just said the more, the merrier. Also, she is really looking forward of having a good drinking buddy." – "No worries, I won't disappoint her." Roy said with a sure smile. "Oh, sorry, but I was talking about Mi- eh Rebecca." The brown haired women sniggered and pulled a face into the direction of her superior officer.


	3. Cheating at Card Games

Rockbell Residence, living room

The rest of the sleigh ride had passed by quickly. Once they had arrived at the Rockbell residence, they were eagerly greeted by Den. Him and Black Hayate seemed to have become friends the minute they had met, which was true. It is a lot easier for dogs, because they know how to listen to their instinct and relied on sense of smell. Eyes could fool you, but certainly not your nose, at least from their perspective. There had been hot soup waiting for them in the living room and they were now sitting in front of the fire place, enjoying mugs of tea with rum (in several different ways of relation to one another, one might say Rebecca was on a good way to have rum with tea).

"So, I hear you have been doing a lot to make reparations for Ishval then?" Pinako was sitting rather laid-back in her wingback chair, and her voice sounded calm but Mustang saw something sparkle in her eyes that told him she was a lot more interested in this than she wanted to make them think. He cleared his throat but Riza already answered. "There is still a lot to do but we're at least making an effort. At least this time around our people listen to the Ishvalian leaders. There is however an effort made that we military officers don't get involved too much. Or at least avoid getting **visibly** involved." – "Rumour has it the military is becoming a lot less visible on the home front, too."

Mustang looked positively puzzled this time. ' _How the hell does she know those things?'_ "Ehm, it's complicated." he said "But generally, Fuhrer Grunman is moving into the direction of relieving the military of some of it's , eh, political power. Installing a different kind of government and so on. That's supposed to make Amestris a lot less aggressive, at least in theory. To be frank, that mostly means the head of state will be chosen by a parliament, who in turn is chosen by the people. It's not like now, where we are a Parliamentary Republic in theory, but actually just a Military Dictatorship."

Pinako looked at him "I'm impressed, I didn't think you would be quite so honest." Mustang shrugged "I didn't see the reason not to be. You seem to be well informed anyway." Pinako chuckled. "I can see why the boys are looking up to you." – "Nah, I'm pretty sure they hate me for using the stone." Roy's tone was light but there was something there that suggested this actually worried him. He blew on his tea and took another sip. Riza watched him intently. She knew how much Roy had debated with himself, but in the end had chosen to restore his sight. He was now working hard to keep his promise he had made to do so. A bit too hard sometimes, she thought. The bags under his eyes spoke volumes. Hell, he even did the paperwork without her having to, err, persuade him.

"Actually, Mr. Mustang, Ed and Al respect your choice." Winry looked up from Den, who had lain down on her lap. "Well, Ed might deny it but he really does. The stone had already been made, you didn't make the sacrifices. That's at least what he said to me once."

A smile crept up Roy's face before he took another sip from his mug. "Thank you, that's kind of you to tell me. And please, call me Roy." – "Winry." The two shook hands, smiling.

"Well, now that the mushy, lovey-dovey stuff is out of the way, let's talk about the important things." Rebecca emptied her mug in one gulp. "Do you by any chance have any playing cards here?" Pinako grinned and got up to get them. And also a bottle of some conspicuously clear liquid.

* * *

Later

"YOU CHEATED!" – "Never! I'm careful to end things before I start something new, I do have my honour." – "I don't care about your god damn sex escapades, but that just was a king of hearts that fell down!" – "Well, there is one in the game you know." – "BUT NOT TWO!" Rebecca angrily filled up Roy's water glass with liquor, and spilled half of it again while pushing it over the table into his hand. "Cheaters drink!"

Riza sighed and, while Roy chugged down the liquid, shuffled the cards and dealt them out again. Winry had already retired to her bed and this was starting to get out of hand. She herself even felt a bit tipsier than she liked. "Shut up Becky; next time, just cheat yourself, too." Rebecca gasped. "Why would you even suggest this? Wait! YOU HAVEN'T!" – "Ugh my ears." – "I really can't believe you Riza, I thought we were friends." With those words Catalina got up and stormed off. It surely was supposed to have looked dramatic, but, given the fact the 2nd lieutenant had had a bit too much to drink, ended up looking like an angry baby elephant taking its first steps. Pathetic and also somehow cute.

"Gosh, she sure does become a bit extreme after a few drinks." Riza shook her head "Nah," she said, "she just wants to talk to me about something and couldn't think of anything better to make me follow her without anyone becoming suspicious. But she must be super drunk, because usually she comes up with something better, really." She got up from the table and nodded towards its two inhabitants "Good night." – "Night." –"Uhhh, I better go to sleep as well." Roy yawned. "Thanks for the stuff, it's pretty good." Pinako shook her head when she watched Mustang stagger out of the room. "The youth of today just can't hold their liqueur." she muttered more to herself than anyone in particular.

* * *

"God damn, Becka!" Riza threw her pillow in the general direction of her friend. They had shared rooms and beds before, especially in academy times, but in the last years the memories seemed to have clouded a little. Riza had only remembered the hushed conversations and the fun of making up stories until late at night and so on. She had forgotten what a pain in the ass sleeping Rebecca could be. And **drunken** sleeping Rebecca was way worse.

Riza had now woken up several times to having her blanket snatched away, being kicked or slapped (or tightly hugged, she couldn't decide which was worse) and, worst of all, the 2nd lieutenant's snoring. She reached for her watch on the bedside table and, in the dim light of the moon, saw that it was only four in the morning. This meant they had only tried to sleep for about two hours. Well, Rebecca seemed to sleep like a baby, a drunken baby, but she was wide awake now.

"I'll kill you in the morning." she muttered, and, grabbing her blanket and pillow, made her way out of the room. _I bet Winry's bedroom only has one twin-sized bed, but I'm sure that even though Al didn't need to sleep before, he sure still has a bed in his and Ed's room._ She sighed. _Let's hope he snores less._ She tiptoed over the corridor and knocked on the door, as quietly as she could. Nothing stirred. When she carefully opened the door, she saw a small bedroom with two small beds, one right beneath the window, the other one standing in a ninety degree angle from it, on the right wall of the room. There was a figure lying in the bed right under the window, but everything was quiet. The 1st lieutenant softly closed the door behind her, and crawled into the newly acclaimed bed.


	4. Intruders!

December 24th

The sky was already starting to brighten up and reflected on the snow that was still muffling all sounds. "Ouch!" Well… almost all sounds. There was a hushed argument and a window slowly opened inwards. "They'll really be so surprised." came a whisper from outside the window and a foot carefully made its way… into something the owner of the foot did not expect to be there.

Screams.

"WHAT IS HAPPENING?!" – "WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?" – "WHO ARE **YOU**?" *click* " **EVERYBODY FREEZE!** " Riza Hawkeye had rolled out of bed, and on one knee, pointed her gun in the general direction of the window. The silhouettes of three figures where outlined in front of the window and in the soft light Riza could make out three faces turned towards her. Mustang found his voice first "Why are you here, Lieutenant?" Edward sniggered "You really must have been drunk last night, Colo – eh sorry, - General bastard."

The boy jumped into the room when Riza relaxed, put the gun away and sat back down on the bed. "Oh, Rebecca snores, I had to find a different place to sleep." – "You know, you could have woken me up so I would not be so … surprised." said the person that made it a habit to sleep in his underwear and was now slightly embarrassed, especially because the two Elrics were in the room with them. And that somehow seemed a lot more inappropriate.

He was currently doing his best to find cover under his sheets but to also seem unbothered by his state of dress or rather undress. Alphonse had by now also climbed into the room, taking a bit more care than his brother to not step on Mustang, and closed the window up behind him. "So, what are you two doing here?" asked Riza. "I was just about to ask the same." said Alphonse. "Well, **we** were invited!" said Roy, who was apparently still bothered by having been stepped on. Riza coughed. "Technically, **I** was invited." "Technicalities." "Technically, **we** still live here." Edward looked as if he was ready to take on Roy, whatever he might say.

"Well no, you don't really live here, your mechanic lives here." the General said, probably just to piss Ed off in any way he could. This was a very stupid point but the older Elric brother was eager to be offended it seemed, sort of as if he had waited to snap at Mustang. Riza saw the escalation unfolding before her and laid a hand on Edward's shoulder. "No sir, I'm afraid Edward can readily say that this is his home still, given his fiancé lives here." "His fi… FIANCÉ?" Edward knew he had finally won, especially by having the lieutenant on his side. He pointed at his chest. "Yup!" "How did you know this, Lieutenant?" Riza looked at him with an expression that very clearly suggested he was being a bit slow. "The same reason I was invited here for Christmas, sir. I happen to know the fiancé. Anyway, I'm going to wake up Rebecca, no point of going back to sleep." And so she turned and left the room.

"You're bloody young for being engaged, you know that." Roy said after she had closed the door behind her. "You're bloody old for not being engaged." – "Damn." – "Well, if you'll excuse me, I have to go and wake up **my fiancé**." he grinned and turned around to leave the room. Now only a still grumpy Mustang and Alphonse were still left. "Uhm, it's nice to see you again, Mr. Mustang." he reached out a hand and Mustang shook it. "My pleasure, I see the journey has treated you well." Al looked a lot better than right after he had gotten his body back, having gained weight and his skin was still tanned, presumably from his time in the desert.

"Yeah, I guess. I learned a bunch too. Brother and I had just met up a week ago, and there really is a so much to talk about. I'm sure you'll be interested in it as well." – "I don't know if your brother would be so eager to share everything with me though." Al chuckled "He's still the same in some ways, yes, but we heard a lot about the changes that have been made in Amestris, all the restorations and the efforts to really make peace. We've assumed you've been behind a lot of this and so even if Ed pretends like he is still mad at you, he isn't really." he smiled, "Uhm, I better go and see if I can help with breakfast." That left Roy alone. ' _Well I guess Christmas just became a whole lot more stressful.'_ He sighed and decided the world would look a whole lot better after a hot shower.


	5. Wardrobe Malfunction

"REBECCA ELIZA CATALINA!" The brown haired woman froze downstairs in the act of setting the table and then sniggered. "That sounded very, very pissed, Lieutenant." said Mustang, who had volunteered to get a fire going in the fireplace. Well, not so much volunteered as having simply assumed it would be expected of him and therefore just done it. Rebecca shrugged. "She'll get over it, I mean, there is not too much she can do, can she." "What happened?" asked Alphonse who was currently busy making scrambled eggs. "Oh, not much, really; I just took the opportunity to pack some different, nice clothes, for her and throw out those awful, washed out turtle necks, for instance. She really should thank me, I mean, that's a free wardrobe update." – "Oh," Mustang looked up from the fire, "you didn't actually throw out **all** of the turtle necks, did you?"

Alphonse was surprised by the worried look on the General's face. "Yes I did, why not?" – "Uhm…" – "Oh shit, you're talking about **that** aren't you?!" – "Wait, you know about that?" Mustang now looked thunderstruck. Al wondered what this was all about. Ed and Winry were still upstairs and… uhm, well, they were still upstairs. Pinako was boiling water for coffee and didn't seem to notice what was going on and Alphonse had just come over with a bowl of hot scrambled eggs to put them on the dining room table. Rebecca shrugged, "I totally forgot about that, sorry, and yes, me and her became pretty close friends in the academy. We watched each other's backs, so to say." – "Oh."

Rebecca looked towards the stairs. "I'll better sort this out." Alphonse watched the woman walk up the stairs and Mustang just stare into the flames. There was something in the eyes of the General that made them suddenly seem very hollow, like staring into a deep, dark well. After a while, Mustang noticed his stare, got up and smiled at Alphonse. The boy thought it was smarter not to ask and instead went to help Pinako with the coffee.

* * *

"You are an absolute idiot." – "I'm sorry, I just didn't think-"– "No **, clearly** you didn't!" Riza was sitting in her underwear on the bed and looked at the clothing that she had taken out of her suitcase. She didn't much care about the skirts and trousers, but the blouses… Finally, she picked a pair of tights and a pretty, dark green pencil skirt. Then she took a white blouse and did the best she could with a blazer and a shawl. She turned her back to Rebecca "Good?" – "Yeah, it's hidden." "You know," the blonde woman said while smoothening out her skirt, "if the two Elrics hadn't shown up, it probably would not have been such a huge problem." Rebecca put a hand on her friends shoulder. "But they are close enough to you, are they not? I mean, they wouldn't tell anyone, would they?" Riza shook her head.

"I don't know, but I'm not ready to go into that chapter of my past anyway. Not yet at least. I've kept it hidden all those years and that's sort of become a habit. It's not a nice thing to talk about. It rips open old wounds. And not only for me, you know that." – "So you're not really keeping it hidden for your sake, are you?" Catalina suddenly became angry. "That's so **you** , you know? Sometimes, oh god, please just sometimes be selfish. It sucks to have to be careful to keep it hidden all the time and I know you would not care that much if it wouldn't affect him. God damn, Riza!" – "You don't understand." Riza's voice was awfully quiet. "YES, I DO!" There was a knock on the door and the 2nd Lieutenant moved forward to jerk it open.

Roy was standing in the doorway, a bit taken aback by the force the door had been ripped open. "Uhm, breakfast's ready…" Rebecca pushed past him and stomped down the stairs. "She's pissed." observed Roy. He looked over at Riza who was still standing in the middle of the room. She squared her shoulders and was about to walk out of the room, when he held a hand up. "Wait, please." She shot him a quizzical look. "Maybe she is right, you know. I'm just being selfish." – "You know that's not true and that this could ruin both our careers." He shook his head. "At this point, I don't think so. Anyhow, just hiding it for the sake of our careers is- " – "Necessary!" Riza looked him into the eyes firmly. "Do you really think the Elrics would say anything?" - "No, but I know the reason that we should not tell them, and you know it just as well. Breakfast is ready, anyway."

And with that the conversation seemed to be over. Roy sighed and followed her down the stairs. ' _She really is doing this mostly for me. God damn, I'm selfish.'_ He watched Riza's back as they made their way to the living room. ' _She is always watching my back. About time I do the same for her.'_


	6. Lies, lies, lies

Breakfast was dominated by Ed and Al telling stories about everything they had seen and done, Roy teasing them about this and that, but mostly the conversation had a very light tone to them. Alphonse however sensed the tension. He closely watched the interactions between Hawkeye, Mustang and Catalina, who tried to pretend everything was normal, but in the ways they looked at or addressed each other, there was clearly something going on here. Winry and Edward didn't really seem to notice anything but each other, even though there wasn't a lot of PDA, it was clear how much they had missed one another in the previous months. Pinako Rockbell assumed her usual poker face but you could see her crack a smile now and then. The whole family was together again.

"Creta is a weird place, really, but once you know about the different disputes and such, it really is easy to navigate." Edward took a sip of his coffee, black without milk of course. "It was just hard in the beginning because I'm just to stating my opinion very obviously. They don't really stand for that, though, and so a lot is happening in between the words. Once you know that, it gets easier." He cracked a smile, "They also don't drink milk. Very pleasant, really."  
Winry rolled her eyes. You couldn't say anything about Ed's height and the relation to milk, or rather the lack thereof, because he had grown to be quite tall. Even though he still twitched somewhat when someone said the "short" word. "Really? No milk?" – "At least not cow milk. They make milk from beans or rice. And mostly they use it for cooking, not just plainly drinking it. There's a saying there that's something like: 'A mother's milk is for the baby and because I am no baby cow, the cow's milk is not for me'." Edward leaned back and seemed very pleased with himself while the rest of the party just shared a very meaningful look and started laughing, because Ed still had to make things up to excuse his dislike, or rather hate, for milk.

Alphonse laughed the loudest. His older brother looked annoyed and thought of something to say that would turn the joke on him in return. A devilish smile crept up on his face. "Sooooo, Al… how is your little girlfriend then?" Al turned beet red and his laugh turned into a cough. "No! She's not my girlfriend!" he shouted and waved around with his arms, nearly knocking his glass over. "Ha! But then, how come you knew exactly who I was talking about then?" – "That's really not fair, brother!" – "Well you making fun of your older brother is not fair either." Alphonse sighed and sank back into his chair, his red face started to lose its vivid colour again slowly. Winry smiled, "But you really have to promise to bring May here soon, alright?" "Yeah, sure," Alphonse mumbled.

"Are you talking about the little Xingese fighter?" Riza asked, "I still have something for her. Please make sure you tell me when she visits, she saved my life after all." She stated it just as what it was – a fact. "I'll make sure to do so." said Al. He took a bite of bread and stared into the distance, his thoughts clearly not being at the table, but far away, east of Amestris. Riza smiled slightly when she noticed this. The younger Elric might try to pretend there was nothing there, but just as she had had a feeling about Ed and Winry before; Riza sensed that there was something in the air. Maybe not love, but clearly affection and maybe infatuation. Love took time. And was so much more complicated.

"So, who will be helping to prepare dinner now?" Pinako Rockbell looked around the table. "Well, Al and I would technically not even be here soooo, I guess we're out." Ed smiled a very sure smile. "And with that," Pinako flashed an even surer smile "you just earned a place as potato peeler." Edward's mouth fell open. Winry started laughing "That's what you get for trying to be smart!" - "Don't worry, I'll help you brother." - "And NO use of alchemy, you know the Holiday rules in this house." – "Ahh, come on, please!" – "Nope, that's that, I won't have It." she looked over at Mustang "Same goes for you." He lifted his hands "I don't even have my gloves on."(Which didn't prevent him from doing Alchemy anymore, of course, but it was still a sign of him not intending to burn anything down, at least for the moment) "Good. You and Al can go chuck some wood behind the house. The rest is helping me in here." She said it in a tone that didn't tolerate any negotiations. Rebecca was on the verge to saluting, but wasn't sure if that would be taking it too far. She was only a guest and had a whole lot of respect for the old lady. So instead she just gave a quick nod.

* * *

"This sure is a brisk wind." Roy remarked as Al and he made their way through the snow. "Yeah!" Al almost had to shout back to him "It's the wide fields and nothing in between to stop it I guess. As children we always checked if we could be held up only by the wind." They went around the house and to a more sheltered area where the stacked wood was kept. Al had taken two axes out of the shed earlier and handed Roy one, after he had put down the big basket that they intended to fill up with finished firewood. Alphonse watched the General from the corner of his eye. The man furrowed his brows while he hacked at the wood with a bit too much force than was actually needed.

Al drew in a breath; he just couldn't wait any longer "Uhm, Mr. Mustang. I'm sorry to ask if it's too personal, but what was all the commotion about earlier?" – "Hm, sorry, what?" – "The commotion, earlier? What was that about?" Alphonse was surprised when Mustang actually looked down at his boots, as if he was ashamed to talk about this topic.  
"Sorry, but it's not my place to tell you. I can't decide about that." Roy took another piece of wood and brought his axe down with force. Al watched him for a while and then took his own axe and started chopping wood to fill up the basket placed between them. He was naturally a nice person and a whole lot more empathetic than his brother, so he thought better than to press on. Still, this was something he really wanted to discuss with Winry and Edward later. Something weird was going on. They filled up the rest of the basket in silence and then carried it back into the warm house.

Inside, music sounded over to them, and several female voices were singing along to the song "…extroverted but full of fear, the soviet trumpeter…"Roy was surprised to hear his 1st Lieutenant's voice trailing along to the tune. She wasn't an expert singer, granted, but still hit the notes correctly, most of the time. When he and Al put down the heavy basket on the living room floor, he heard Rebecca and Riza teasing each other about their inabilities to cook. He was sure that Riza could cook somewhat, she had after all looked after her father for so long, but he also knew that some of her trying to make breakfast had resulted in the occasional burned milk smell and eggs that were a bit more than crisp. He had no idea of what Rebecca was capable; hopefully they were under good observation.

Roy sneaked up the stairs to get a book he had packed before, to read it in front of the fire in hope he wasn't asked to do anything else. When he walked back towards the living room, he was surprised to see Winry, Ed and Al pass him and walk straight towards the Automail shop area. "Need to fix something on his automail, Al's helping." Winry answered before he could ask. ' _She can tell a lie without turning red, I'm impressed.'_ But instead of calling her out on it, he nodded and pretended to believe in what she just told him. It was pretty clear to him why they went that way; to talk about what Alphonse had overheard earlier. He sighed. It seemed like this day was becoming a whole lot more tricky and, possibly, disastrous. He sank down on the comfortable couch opposite the fireplace and pulled out his book.

* * *

(The Song: Katzenjammer - Soviet Trumpeter)


	7. Kitchen is Hell

"So, there is something about Ms. Hawkeye and both Mustang and Catalina know about it," – "And Mustang was perplexed that Rebecca **did** know about it!" – "Yes, and he said something about it not being his place to talk right? Doesn't really sound like the know-it-all he usually is." Ed was leaning against the work bench, arms crossed. Winry had taken a seat on her chair and bounced with her legs up and down. Al stood next to the door.  
"I mean, I guess this is something a bit unusual for him. Seemed a bit like his weak spot-" – " **Aha**!" – "'Aha' what, Ed?" – "Then it has to be the Lieutenant!" Edward sniggered "That's his weak spot alright." Winry rolled her eyes. "That's old news. But what I find interesting is that it was something he wasn't aware such a close friend as Rebecca knew about Riza as well. So it must really be something very secretive." "But," Edwards stood up "what I don't get, they were talking about clothes? That's what doesn't fit in the equation." He scratched his head. "Unless," he said "there's something that the lieutenant tries to hide by the means of clothing."

Al's eyes lit up. "That explains why she is wearing a warm blazer **and** a scarf even though it is really warm in the kitchen." – "But…" Edward's eyes opened wide "Mustang knowing about it must mean he has seen whatever it is and that means…" Winry shook her head. "Don't be so quick on your assumptions! That doesn't really need to mean anything." – "I really thought she had higher standards than **him**!" – "You're making assumptions again, Edward! Besides, I'm pretty sure the law prevents them to be together or anything close to that." Al nodded his head. "And I'm sure they are smarter than breaking that law. They don't seem to be the kind of people to take unnecessary chances." –  
"Oh I don't know, they could just be very sneaky about it. But regardless, I really want to find out what they are hiding now." Winry shot him a look "What you just said is 'I want to remove Ms. Hawkeye' clothing." – "That's not what I said." Edward turned pink. Winry grinned. ' _At least he is ashamed._ ' "Actually," Al said "that seems to be the only option here, if we really want to find out more. But, I'm really not sure we should try to prod on any further. This seems too personal. Let's go back before they sense something's up."

* * *

Riza cursed Rebecca a thousand times in her head. Her friend was usually pretty smart, but sometimes she just failed to think about certain things before doing them. She was helping prepare a big fat goose for the oven and was sweating like a pig in her way too warm clothes.  
The scarf was itchy and tiny beads of sweat were running down her forehead. The problem was she couldn't even complain loudly. Pinako had already asked her why she didn't remove the warm clothing so she had to pretend she was feeling cold. Which was becoming harder and harder. Maybe she had to resign to wearing her sweaty outfit from the day before, but that didn't seem to be an option. Damn. Winry re-entered the kitchen and her gaze immediately fell on Riza. "You know, I think if you would remove the scarf, you'd be a lot more comfortable." Rebecca gulped when she saw the vein on Riza's forehead pulse. "No thanks, I'm feeling a bit chilly." Winry's eyebrows shot up.

"Sorry to be so frank but you look rather hot than cold." - "Ah, could you help me with the beets Winry? I could never really get the hang of preparing them correctly." Rebecca tried to draw the girl's attention to her, rather lousily, she had to admit, but Winry came over to help. They kept working for about an hour before Pinako snapped. "This is ridiculous! Miss Hawkeye, I can see that you will not part with your clothing but I just can't stand see you sweat here any longer. So please, for my sake, take your coat and take a walk outside in the snow." – "Thank you, Mrs. Rockbell."

Riza put down the spoon she was using to stir the gravy and walked out of the kitchen. She was feeling way to hot and the prospect of going out in the snow delighted her. However, she knew that once she would come back the questions would start up. It was clear that something was unusual about her behaviour and she was pretty sure that they knew she was hiding something underneath her scarf. She walked past the living room where Mustang had looked up from his book when he had heard what had been said in the kitchen. When he saw his lieutenant walk past he got up and followed her.

Ed and Al, who had been sitting at the table playing a card game, followed him with their gaze. "When they come back, I'm going to ask them then and there what the hell this is all about." Ed said. "Or we could as Miss Catalina right now." suggested Alphonse. "Nah, sorry, I can't tell you." said a voice behind them. "I'm lucky if I make it out alive already; I'm not going to piss Riza off any more." Rebecca was leaning against the door frame and had her arms crossed. "I'm supposed to get you to help; we need you to prepare dessert." The brothers sighed simultaneously. "I'm pretty sure that's slavery."


	8. I'd rather make you angry than sad

Riza heard the snow crunch underneath her boots and felt the icy air on her hot face. It felt like heaven. Black Hayate had stayed in the warmth, he was too small for the snow, but Den trotted next to her. "Lieutenant!" Riza kept walking. Roy hurried through the snow behind her. "Please, Lieutenant." She still marched on, but slowed her step a little.  
"Riza, please wait." The woman sighed and stopped. Roy finally caught up to her. They looked at each other in silence for a moment, then Riza started walking again and Roy fell into step next to her. "Will you talk to me?" he asked after a while. The wind had calmed down and the sun was setting slowly on the horizon, casting his soft light over the snow covered fields. "I waited for you, didn't I? And it doesn't seem like I have any other option, do I…?!" – "Sorry." – "It's not your fault and you know that. My father made the choice to tattoo me, I made the choice to reveal his research to you and later have it burned. The only thing you chose to do was deciphering his research and helping me to destroy it again."

He winced. "Let me at least have a share in the fault, please. You only wanted it destroyed after you have seen what I had done in Ishval. Please, Riza." He reached out his hand to touch her arm but she slightly moved away from him. "I know where this is leading and I don't like it. You want to convince me that it's okay to show the Elric brothers. Well, no, I don't think it is. They are smart kids but they are also very ambitious and I've had it with people trying to decipher my tattoo. Also, there is a chance they won't believe me when I tell them it was my choice to have it destroyed. And they already had a hard time accepting your choice of using the stone to restore your eyesight." –  
"God damn it," Roy raised his voice "I don't care what they think of **me** but I care about **you** being able to stop hiding from your past." – "Don't tell me anything about hiding from my own past, sir!" She basically spit out the last word. "I can see the dark bags under your eyes and you've lost weight, too. And you still scream in your sleep, I heard you. You can't rewrite the past and you are doing all you can, more than you can to be exact." Her voice became more and more quiet but he could still hear how much this shook her up.

The memories of her childhood came back to Riza. The little girl she once was, practically caring for herself and her father and having to act like an adult way too early, never being good enough for him, never being able to fulfil his wishes properly. The war… when she had been sent to the front at far too young an age. Those horrifying pictures burned deep into her memory, the shame of finding out what she had done by showing her father's research to Roy.  
Even after his death she had failed him as a daughter. And now Roy still thought that he had to make up for his mistakes, for following orders. And there was only so much he could do, but he still did more. "Shit." she whispered and stopped walking. "Shit, shit, shit." She felt the tears rush into her eyes and for once, just for once, she wasn't strong enough to stop them. Roy hesitated for a moment, but finally turned her towards him and drew her into his arms.  
She didn't resist him and felt relieved when his tears touched her cheek as well. She wasn't the only one that was weak today. They stood there in silence for a while. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." he said, very quietly. The tears felt hot on his cold face. They stood there for a while, leaning on each other for support.

Den pushed with his nose at Riza's leg and she withdrew from Roy's embrace to pat the dog's head. Then, without warning, she scooped up snow with her hands and threw it towards Roy. "And stop being sorry, for fuck's sake!" The black haired man was perplexed as well as for her unusual choice of words as well as for the snow that hit his coat.  
When he saw Riza's face, streaky with tears, brows furrowed and eyes shining with determination and then turned his eyes towards the snow slowly slugging off his coat, he couldn't help it: he started to giggle. Riza tried to look angry and stern, but her mouth started twitching. She bent down again, formed another snowball, and, this time, expertly hit his head. When she dodged his counter attack, she finally started to laugh herself.  
"Stop. Being. Sorry. Your-self." Roy jumped out of the way of her snowball and this time was able to hit her with his on her side. "Ahhhggghhhh! You really are making me so angry!" She missed again and had to drop down to avoid his snowball, which was snapped out of the air by Den, who was really enjoying himself.  
"Better than sad." He grinned until an expertly thrown snowball wiped that grin of his face. "Shut … up." Riza gasped for air. They stood in front of each other, about two meters of churned up snow between them. Roy was hit again in the chest and let himself fall back, in the soft, cold ground. Riza smiled.

"Do you … give up?" – "I'm critically hit." The young woman grunted and slowly walked over to him. She sank down to her knees by his side. "You could have told me that your friend knows about the tattoo, you know." He had is eyes closed while he spoke. "Rebecca saw it during my time at the academy, she only later made the connection. But she always respected my wishes and helped me keep my secret. We never talk about it. I didn't see the reason to tell you." – "You mean you didn't want to bring it up aga- ugh." He spit out the snow that Riza had dropped on his face.  
"You're mean." – "I know." She smiled and let her eyes wander over the pretty sight before her. The sun had turned red and painted the snow around them with beautiful, vivid colours. "Why… Why do you want to tell them so bad?" He opened his eyes and looked up to her face. "I don't think there is any danger in telling them. And actually, I think it's good. This is eating away at you, still. So I just thought talking about it would help you." Riza looked down on him, into his eyes. "I hate it when you are reasonable." – "I know." She slowly got up again and held out a hand to help him up.

"I will tell them, but only under one condition." He took her hand and got up. "I had a feeling you might say that." he said while brushing off the snow from his clothes. "What is it?" She shrugged. "It's easy, stop working so damn hard." He drew in his breath and then shook his head. "But there is still so much to do…"  
She cut him off with a movement of her hand. "Yes, I know that, but you are not the only one who can do all the work. I know you're still trying to make up for something, but it's enough. You have to start accepting that you can't change the past." Roy grinned. "And you said you hate it when I get reasonable with you." When he saw the look on her face he sighed. "I guess we both have to start accepting the past, don't we?" He stuck out his hand. "Deal?" – "Deal!"

Riza shuddered. "Let's go back, I think I have cooled off enough. It's getting dark, too." He nodded and walked beside her, back towards the house. Den trotted through the snow next to Riza. "But I don't think I should just take of my scarf and that's that…" – "Riza…" – "No, I will show it, don't worry, but the kids are currently trying to find a way of getting me to show whatever it is I'm hiding, and I don't want to bore them." Roy laughed. "The Fullmetal pipsqueak has probably worked on a plan already." – "Yeah, see. I don't want them to feel as if they had wasted their time." The 1st lieutenant grinned devilishly, but had her perfect poker face back on when they opened the front door to the Rockbell residence.  
Game time.


	9. The Plan's the Thing

Edward Elric wasn't happy. He had tried all day to find a way to get Riza Hawkeye to reveal whatever she was hiding under her scarf that wasn't too inappropriate, and it definitely was inappropriate to just rip the scarf from her. Also, you could never be sure if she wasn't carrying a gun with her, and he didn't want to anger her in case she did. Alphonse and Winry had made the choice not to help him any further, too. They sensed that this was something too private for them and made the choice not to dig any deeper. Damn them.

"Brighten up, Fullmetal. It's a holiday!" Ed rolled his eyes. They were setting the table and since Roy had come back from his walk with Riza, he was suspiciously cheerful. And that just didn't seem like a good thing to Edward. "Ed, Al, please carry the bird!" Pinako shouted from the kitchen. "Coming."

Soon, they were all sitting at the table and busy passing several different plates and bowls with steaming food around. Riza had found her place between Edward on her left and Rebecca on her right side, opposite Mustang. Edward looked at Riza's scarf from the corner of his eye and tried not to be very obvious about it. This in turn made it very hard for Roy not to start laughing, who of course knew what the young man was thinking about. _'Well, let's see what kind of master plan you kids have worked out.'_

* * *

Before dinner, Riza had stopped Rebecca in the hallway and told her briefly about what Mustang and she had decided on. Rebecca had muttered something sounding like if they had talked sooner about important stuff this might have been able to be resolved sooner, too. But overall she was happy for her friend because it seemed like she was processing her past at last.  
Many nights she had stayed up with a silently sobbing Riza in the sleeping halls of the military academy. First she had thought that the girl was crying because she was an orphan, and because of the harshness of the academy, but when she one day spotted the tattoo, Riza told her everything. Rebecca remembered asking if it had hurt being tattooed and from the reaction of the girl she could tell this was the first time she had been asked about her own pain. Clearly, the relationship between father and daughter had not been an easy one.

* * *

The feast tasted amazing and they thoroughly enjoyed it. Pinako Rockbell had opened a bottle of good wine and was already opening the second bottle, when Ed tried his first plan. Which failed. He tried to spill some of his drink on Riza but the Lieutenant's quick reflexes kept her from harm. ' _Damn_ '.  
After the fifth failed attempt, he could see how this would not be working out. Ok, on to plan number two. When he put more wood on the fire he grinned viciously. There was no way Hawkeye could just escape into the snow right now while they were celebrating. Soon, the air in the room had heated up immensely and not only Riza was feeling the effects of this. She had previously put on a nearly backless dress, no point in showing only a bit of the tattoo and then having to awkwardly struggle out of her clothing again to show the rest. Of course at the moment her blazer and scarf were still keeping the secret safe and when she saw Edward get up to put more wood on the fire, she knew what his plan was.

Winry's nerves were strained. She knew too, what Edward intended but she also knew about Hawkeye's pigheadedness and unless they all wanted to strip down to their underwear because of the heat, Ed's current plan was just going to backfire. So instead she got up, opened a window and said:"Sorry Edward, but this is ridiculous." The young man's mouth fell open when he saw his fiancé turn back to the table and put her hands on it in a definitive gesture. "Riza, I have the feeling that you already aware but Edward is trying to find out what you are hiding without asking you. And accepting it's a personal thing and then just **move on**." She narrowed her eyes and fixed Edward with a very stern look.

Riza sighed and smiled. "Yes I noticed." Roy nodded at her and so she took another sip of her wine, before starting to remove her scarf and finally taking off her blazer. Then she got up and turned around. She heard Alphonse drawing in his breath through his teeth and Ed saying: "But, but this is…that array…"  
He looked very shocked and kept glancing back and forth between Riza and Roy. Then his expression changed; he wrinkled his forehead and actually looked angry, while Alphonse still had the expression of shock on his face. "Okay, can someone please explain to a person who hasn't studied alchemy what this is about?" Winry demanded. "That's flame alchemy." said Alphonse in a very hushed voice. "So you're using your subordinates as notepaper, General?" Edward basically spit out the last word and was already moving towards the black haired man when Riza turned back around and grabbed his shoulder.

"Sit down and listen." she said in a very calm voice. "Roy Mustang was not the first flame alchemist, my father was." Ed's angry face took on a more shocked look. "You mean your own father did this to you?" – "I kept his research safe." – "You mean, you volunteered to do this?" – "No, I was way too young for that. But I had felt that this was my duty. I see the problem with it now of course, but as a young girl I never understood how this wasn't a thing fathers usually did." – "So…." Alphonse cleared his throat "you were an apprentice of Riza's father then, General?" Roy nodded. "Although he never entrusted me with his research. Riza did so after his death." They almost missed the fact that Mustang referred to his Lieutenant with her first name and because Riza started to talk again, Edward couldn't make a remark on that.

The story wasn't very long. In the military you learned to keep things short, but just as with the story about Ishval that she had told Edward a few years prior, she didn't leave out anything, not even the unpleasant bits. When she got to the part about her request to Roy to burn the array, Alphonse noticed how the General was looking down at his hands with his lips pressed tightly together, as if those memories were still causing him pain.  
To Roy's astonishment, Edward didn't react in the way that he had thought he would, accusing him of destroying the research because he was so selfish, but rather fully believed Riza's story about it being a request from her side. "You will understand why I keep it hidden of course. People would draw the wrong conclusions and we would both lose our jobs. Also, it doesn't bring up the most pleasant of memories." She slightly smiled at them. "But we feel like we can trust you in not only keeping it a secret but of course in also not trying to decipher the secrets of flame alchemy. Roy will be the last flame alchemist, hopefully." There was silence for a moment, and then Pinako got up and muttered "I think we can all use a drink now." She poured them all shots of some self-made apple vodka and they all drank them thankfully.

Suddenly, as if all the energy had been sucked out of her, Riza slumped down in her chair. You could tell that something had been lifted off her, and all the previously tensed up muscles suddenly relaxed. "This is some good stuff." Rebecca remarked while smiling warmly into her friend's direction. "Yes." Riza muttered with her eyes closed, "Yes it is."


	10. Grandpa

After dinner they sang a few songs and the ones who had presents for each other exchanged them. It wasn't very much, but there were some small heart filled gestures, like the incredible new multi-tool for Winry, that Riza had bought for her a while ago in Central City.

When they had passed a bit more time of sitting around with filled bellies, drinking and talking about unimportant stuff, Al was the first one to retire to his bed. He had agreed to sharing his and Ed's old room with the General, while Ed would of course be sleeping in Winry's room and Rebecca had promised to Riza that she was allowed to wake her up when she snored again. "Oh don't you worry about that, I will." One by one they wished each other a good night until only two military officers remained behind; one in the armchair, the other on the sofa.  
"This went a whole lot better than I had expected." Roy looked into his nearly empty wine glass and swished the red liquid around. "Hm-hm." Riza nodded in agreement. "Don't forget your part of the promise." The man grinned and looked over to her. "I'm sure you won't make me forget this. Really, this is the first time you want me to **not** do my paperwork." Riza slowly opened her previously closed eyes. "I didn't say anything about the regular paperwork, don't get any ideas!" Roy sighed and emptied his glass. They both listened to the soft cracking of the wood in the fire.  
"When do you think we should tell them the next secret?" Riza looked perplexed "What secret?" – "Oh, you know, the one we found out last month." – "Oh, that one." – "Yeah…" Riza started to sit up more straight in the chair and yawned. "Actually, I think it might be a bit too much for them to tell them Grunman is my grandfather, it was too much for me anyhow." In a whisper she added, "He told me last time I was at the Fuhrer's estate to call him grandpa when I'm off duty." They both shuddered.

Then, Roy suddenly smiled. "Oh I totally forgot to tell you, but he has insisted in me marrying his granddaughter several times you know." Riza raised her eyebrows. "Don't you get any ideas, sir." – "Ah, but see, he has so much authority." – "I really think I should be getting too bed."  
Mustang looked sad when she slowly got up. "You can be sooooo heartless." he whined. Riza had to laugh when she saw him like this. She moved over to him and bowed down. Then, without warning, she lightly kissed him on the lips. "I know this is fraternization, but I think mistletoes have a higher authority." She pointed at the one hanging above them from the ceiling, smiled, and walked out of the room. "Goodnight," she said and walked up the stairs. Roy closed his eyes and smiled peacefully. Happy Holidays.

* * *

(Bonus)

The next morning, the two Elrics were the first people downstairs.

"Hey look, the mail is here." – "Oh wow, whats that letter with the fancy paper, brother?" – "It's the … holy shit, it's the Fuhrer's address!" – "Who is it for?" – "It says here ' _For my granddaughter'_ … wait…what?" – "But the only one who could be addressed by that…" – "LIEUTENANT HAWKEYE IS GRUNMAN'S GRANDDAUGHTER?!"

* * *

I hope you all liked this :)

It was my first fma fanfiction and my very first in a language that is not my native tongue, please be kind to me ;).  
Awesome, that you made it this far 3 I'm glad I could interest you in my work. A review from you would mean a lot to me and give me motivation to write a second story. Also, I'm very much looking forward to constructive criticism. Thank you for being kind and nice and I wish you all a happy new year 3


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